acceptance

I do not know that everything happens for a reason. I simply know that everything happens.

I don't think I've ever felt anything other than lonely. "The saddest part of this was not the words, but the tone he said them with. So matter of fact; as though loneliness was the same as the colour of your hair or having too many freckles. A fact about yourself that could not be permanently altered.

One by one, the thoughts and memories of sadness raised their hands, stood up to identify themselves. I looked at each thought, at each unit of sorrow, and I acknowledged its existence and felt (without trying to protect myself from it) its horrible pain. And then I would tell that sorrow, "It's OK. I love you. I accept you. Come into my heart now. It's over."...

Maybe there in a set amount of crying your body needs to deal with any trauma. There__ a certain water-level of tears you need to shed until you can find acceptance or move on or whatever. And, if you don__ cry them out, they just catch up with you.

I turned to face Audrey, and everything I loved was right there in her eyes, the memories tangible: the schooldays and sleepovers, the cheap bottles of wine and sappy chick flicks. She was there for my mother__ drunken relapses, there to hold me until I fell asleep the first time the ex from Seattle hit me. It was all there, and my God, each memory was suddenly sacred and the sun rose and set upon it.

Pain and grief have been kept buried for ages, bred in secrecy and shame, wrapped by an ongoing conspiracy of smiles and well-being. Pain and grief are most healing and ecstatic emotions. Yes, sure, they can be hard, yet what makes them most devastating is the perverted idea that they are wrong, that they need to be hidden and fixed. The greatest perversion I can conceive is the idea that illness and pain are a sign that there is something wrong in our life, that we have unresolved issues, that we have made mistakes. In this world everyone is bound to get ill, experience pain and die. The greatest gift I can give to myself and the world is the joyful acceptance of this. Today I want to be real, I will not hide my pain as well as my happiness. I will not care if my gloomy face or desperate words cause concern or embarrassment in others. I do not need be fed with reassuring words about the beauty of life. The beauty of life resides in the full acceptance of All That Is.

Slowly, painfully, I let go. It was like prying my own fingers off the edge of the cliff. And that hurt too-particularly the falling part, and not being sure what was at the b

For as long as it takes for the sorrow and pain to transfer into acceptance. I__l stay here. With you. By your side. I won__ leave.___romise?___ow._ I placed his hands gently on the piano. __ vow.

We are born into a realm of constant change. Everything is decaying. We are continually losing all that we come in contact with. Our tendency to get attached to impermanent experiences causes sorrow, lamentation and grief, because eventually we are separated from everything and everyone we love. Our lack of acceptance and understanding of this fact makes life unsatisfactory.

Time doesn't always heal all wounds.

Sometimes I am all right. Is this what they call letting go? I have let go, if letting go means I am all right sometimes.

Bravery is the choice to show up and listen to another person, be it a loved one or perceived foe, even when it is uncomfortable, painful, or the last thing you want to do.

Suffering is so real & I walk amongst so many who have no idea how much my soul is aching to be healed.

She would always love him. But she would not cease to function because he was gone

The moonlight rained down on the beach as if to shine a spotlight on my solitude, and I wanted to cry out at it, __hy did you take her? You, surrounded by all of your twinkling stars and infinite wonders and darkness. There__ already enough beauty where you are.

And then Jonah heard God__ voice. __onah, do you know what the difference is between you and the trees?_ He was confident it was God because God usually asked questions but gave no answers. Jonah didn__ need a divine answer to this question, he knew it. __es,_ he said. __he difference between me and the trees is that the trees let go of their leaves. I keep holding onto mine. The trees make room for new life. I don__.

We are like children building a sand castle. We embellish it with beautiful shells, bits of driftwood, and pieces of colored glass. The castle is ours, off limits to others. We__e willing to attack if others threaten to hurt it. Yet despite all our attachment, we know that the tide will inevitably come in and sweep the sand castle away. The trick is to enjoy it fully but without clinging, and when the time comes, let it dissolve back into the sea.

Treat gain and loss the same.' Don't be Intimidated. Don't make a Big Deal of anything - just accept things as they come to you.